While I was walky doggying Smokey today, a lady that lives about a block away came out with 5 dogs! 2 (smaller side dogs) were in the back of a car. 1 weiner dog ran off to greet another friendly doggie walker. And she had 1 off leash (larger dog) and a poodle by the collar.

I saw her and said 'hi' earlier when she watched Smokey and I ride by the first time around.

I want to be her friend. I want Smokey and Zeeva to socialize with her dogs.

Given that Smokey and Zeeva don't do well with other dogs and that Smokey is pretty male aggressive, do you think I can ask her about her pack? How? A knock on the door? Is that weird? Maybe I should wait and if I see her out again I can approach her? Should I explain our situation and see if it's ok with her to do some kind of meet and greet?

I've seen her once before and said 'hi' (I usually at least atempt to wave or say hi when I'm going around the neighborhood). She seems friendly and always watches Smokey as we ride by...but most people watch us. I think they wonder how the walky dog contraption works. Lol.

IMO, because of the part in blue below, I wouldn't even broach the topic. I'd weigh the benefits over the potential for something bad to happen. We had a member here who took her dog on a play date with another dog owner she recently met. The other person's dog got hurt, they weren't even sure how he got hurt but the man blamed the German Shepherd. What followed was weeks of threats, stress and calls to animal control and her dog didn't have a history of dog aggression.

Also, as long as your dogs are under control, good on leash (which it sounds likes they are) I'm of the belief they don't need to play with other dogs.

If you do want to have your dog around other dogs how about in a controlled environment like an OB class, or maybe a class to help reduce the DA?

I'd choose being safe over worrying about your dogs interacting with other people's dogs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeeva

While I was walky doggying Smokey today, a lady that lives about a block away came out with 5 dogs! 2 (smaller side dogs) were in the back of a car. 1 weiner dog ran off to greet another friendly doggie walker. And she had 1 off leash (larger dog) and a poodle by the collar.

I saw her and said 'hi' earlier when she watched Smokey and I ride by the first time around.

I want to be her friend. I want Smokey and Zeeva to socialize with her dogs.

Given that Smokey and Zeeva don't do well with other dogs and that Smokey is pretty male aggressive, do you think I can ask her about her pack? How? A knock on the door? Is that weird? Maybe I should wait and if I see her out again I can approach her? Should I explain our situation and see if it's ok with her to do some kind of meet and greet?

I've seen her once before and said 'hi' (I usually at least atempt to wave or say hi when I'm going around the neighborhood). She seems friendly and always watches Smokey as we ride by...but most people watch us. I think they wonder how the walky dog contraption works. Lol.

You can still be her friend, but if your dogs aren't good with other dogs then don't bring them with you. One of our neighbors has GSDs and it was because of their dogs that I went over to introduce myself. There's nothing wrong with being friendly

Since Smokey and Zeeva aren't really fond of new dogs, personally I would not attempt it. You'll be setting them up to fail for no real reason! There is no gain to be had - you could still become her friend and do dog stuff with her, without doggie play dates. I have a lot of dog friends and rarely do our dogs ever get together to play. Usually we meet up for training at a house, park, pet store.... go on hikes or play fetch/Frisbee together in the park. The dogs are around each other but don't have to interact, which would be a safe idea in this case. And it's always nice having a second dog person with you to do dog things and give you an outside perspective on things you're doing! It's great having someone to say "Why don't you lower your criteria?" or "Have you tried this product?.." so that you can become a better owner and more educated/worldly all at once!

It would be nice to make friends with her. Since she already recognizes you and you say hi, you can stop and ask her about her dogs. Get a feel for her and her dogs. If you develop a good relationship maybe you could introduce your dogs one at a time, to one of her dogs. I think seeing more than one dog approaching is intimidating for some dogs. And if you meet, don't stand around - go for a walk, have the dogs keep moving and distracted with smells so they are not focused on one another.

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